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Synonyms

play cat and mouse

Idioms  

  1. Amuse oneself or trifle with, toy with, as in She loved to play cat and mouse with an admirer, acting by turns friendly, indifferent, and jealous. The analogy of a cat toying with a helpless mouse was drawn centuries earlier, but the precise term dates only from the early 1900s.

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Archie Madekwe and Théodore Pellerin play cat and mouse on the edge of fame in writer-director Alex Russell’s poised debut, a modern yet familiar story about obsession.

From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 21, 2025

"It would have been nice to win the stage but I had to keep riding, we didn't want to play cat and mouse with Roglic behind," Thomas said.

From BBC • May 23, 2023

"The police and other city agencies have made a valiant effort with too few resources. They're only out there one night a week. And basically, the campers just play cat and mouse," Ryavec said.

From Fox News • Feb. 13, 2022

And some store owners don’t want to play cat and mouse with customers, continually lowering prices until shoppers finally buy.

From Washington Times • Nov. 29, 2017

They would not wring his neck, but they would play cat and mouse with him and his concertina; and they did.

From The Jimmyjohn Boss and Other Stories by Wister, Owen

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.